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Will Tesla be offering a faster CHAdeMO adapter to replace the outdated SAE J1772 adapter?

Will Tesla be offering a faster CHAdeMO adapter to replace the outdated SAE J1772 adapter?

Submitted by mikefa on Mon, 2013-07-15 04:27

CHAdeMO Level-3 Chargers are now popping up everywhere because it will supposedly be the new industry standard for EV charging that is more than 3x faster than the Level-2 chargers using SAE J1772 adapters. Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV are already equipped with CHAdeMO adapters. This EV charging technology is movinh so fast that i feel my new Model S is already outdated and obsolete compared to the new Nissan Leafs that have newer and more powerful charging technology than my Tesla.

dirkhh |
15 juillet 2013

To paraphrase Jerome at Teslive "I can't make forward looking statements right now, but a CHAdeMO adapter is a reasonable request". I think that's about as close as they can get to saying "yes, we'll have in the near future". But remember "in the near future" is Tesla-speak for "at some point in time when hopefully most of you still own your car" :-)

Having said all this, remember that the SuperCharger charges FASTER than the CHAdeMO standard allows. SuperChargers are between 90kW and 120kW, CHAdeMO maxes out at 62.5kW. But yes, CHAdeMO is more than 3 times faster than J1772 charging which usually maxes out 19.2kW (but most existing stations give you only 30A / 208V or 6kW - CHAdeMO stations give you ten times that).

Long story short: I REALLY hope for a CHAdeMO adapter sooner than later.

GReese |
15 juillet 2013

CHAdeMO? The charging standard that largely doesn't exist in the USA?

OK.

stevenmaifert |
15 juillet 2013

CHAdeMO is the industry standard DC fast charger in Japan. AFAIK, there are only two cars in the USA that can use it; Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The SAE recently adopted industry standard for the USA is this ugly ass combo thing: http://www.blogcdn.com/green.autoblog.com/media/2011/08/sae-j1772-couple... The J1772 Level 2 connector will be with us for a long time. I do hope Tesla comes out with a CHAdeMO adapter and software because it gives us more charging options, but the Supercharger network will be far superior.

uselesslogin |
15 juillet 2013

There are apparently 160 installed in the US. While it seems the supercharger network will soon be larger than that it also seems that CHAdeMO may be relatively easy to deploy. If private companies can do it and have a fee for charging these could make an excellent backup to supercharging. They max out at 62.5kw so they are a reasonable alternative even on longer trips.

PaceyWhitter |
15 juillet 2013

SAE J1772 is not outdated. It is the current standard for public AC charging. (stevenmaifert's frankenplug may eventually replace it far down the line combining a J1772 with a DC connection)

CHAdeMO is a DC charging solution that hopefully will be adopted by Tesla, but it could never replace j1772, and in fact, would also be replaced by the frankenplug.

AmpedRealtor |
15 juillet 2013

The need for a CHAdeMO adapter has nothing to do with whether it is better or inferior to superchargers. A CHAdeMO adapter gives us more options and choices regarding charging locations, and the more we can use the better. I suspect that one of the biggest issues has to do with the fact that CHAdeMO is direct DC charging whereas everything else is AC and has to go through the car's on-board charger to convert that AC current to DC. Perhaps the proprietary nature of Tesla's DC charging system is posing some challenges to designing the electronic/communication portion of the adapter.

GReese |
15 juillet 2013

The more charging options, the better. And certainly CHAdeMO is critical when Tesla seriously takes on the Japanese market.

But CHAdeMO is irrelevant to everyone in the USA except the people of the Pacific Northwest. Resources should be prioritized accordingly.

PaceyWhitter |
15 juillet 2013

GReese

As you said, it is all about resouce prioritization, but outside of Europe, Japan seems like it would be the biggest market for the MS and as you said, a CHAdeMO adaptor is critical for Japan, so it is inevitable that they will be made and it would make no sense for Tesla not to sell those domestically after they are produced.

dirkhh |
15 juillet 2013

CHAdeMO is also being deployed in Europe. And blink appears to be adding CHAdeMO to many of their newer chargers from what I have been able to find so far.

But I basically agree with @AmpedRealtor - it's all about more choices. If you are low on charge and you roll up to a charging station that offers J1772 and CHAdeMO I bet every single person here would wish there was an adapter :-)

Flaninacupboard |
15 juillet 2013

The Chademo adapter will appear the same time as the RHD S, since Japan is RHD.

Jolinar |
15 juillet 2013

The more choices, the better! Especially in Europe and Japan where's quite a lot of them comapare to US.

CoreyM |
15 juillet 2013

Pardon my ignorance on the different standards, but if/when a CHAdeMO adapter is available, will the Model S need twin chargers to take advantage of higher charging rates? Or, because it's DC, it'll be able to bypass the charger(s) like charging at Superchargers?

dortor |
15 juillet 2013

@CoreyM - I'm going to _GUESS_ that because it's DC then twin charger's won't matter - but in all honesty we don't know yet - cause to my knowledge no one on the forums is a qualified tesla battery/charger engineer ;-)

stevenmaifert |
15 juillet 2013

Besides owning a ModS, I also own a Leaf SL. It has two ports, one for J1772, and one for CHAdeMO DC quick charge. The CHAdeMO bypasses the on-board charger and delivers the DC direct to the battery. It would be the same in ModS if Tesla were to make an adapter. They would also have to modify the ModS charging software to allow the car to handshake with the CHAdeMO charger. I took my Leaf to our Nissan dealer last week so they could install additional software to allow the Leaf to handshake with the newer brands of CHAdeMO chargers. Apparently the protocols are not all the same.

There may be some other issues involved if Nissan Leaves and Mitsubishi I-MiEVs make your Model S feel outdated. They're both equipped with chademo because Nissan and Mitsubishi developed chademo...similar to how Tesla is developing its own charging stations. While additional adapters are a plus, it seems to be a priority thing...SCs and Tesla-tech development come first, then cater to competing standards for flexibility.

Brian H |
15 juillet 2013

Early intentions/claims by TM were that it would be able to charge from any source, anywhere, and in the OSLO meetup GB stated the CHAdeMO would be 'native' for European cars. Complications have led to climb-downs on those claims, I guess.

The CHAdeMO plug is an ugly honker, though, isn't it? The Europlug will be the , which supports up to 125A.

Brian H |
15 juillet 2013

Blew the link: Mennekes

rdrcrmatt |
16 juillet 2013

There's no supercharger anywhere near where I'll be driving.. 300 miles to the nearest and I have no reason to ever make my way there.

There are several CHAdeMO stations near where I go. Some right on my path.